Gerard Keller
Staff Commander Gerard Keller is an N7 marine in the Systems Alliance; leader of Omega Squad; and the main protagonist of Mass Effect: To the Last Man, Mass Effect: The Madman's Game, and Mass Effect: Vengeance. He is an exceptional marksman. Keller also possesses ocular implants in his left eye, allowing him to adjust his aim in order to make accurate shots at a longer range, especially with a sniper rifle. This implant also discolors his left eye, changing it to a deep red. Following the events of Mass Effect: To the Last Man, Gerard enters into a relationship with Jessica Nolan. Biography Gerard was born on Earth in the year 2153. Both of his parents were in the Alliance Navy, as military service was a family tradition. On July 13, 2171, Gerard's eighteenth birthday, he received his first real weapon, his very own M-8 Avenger assault rifle. His parents asked him for only one thing in return: enlist in the Alliance military. He also became friends with Captain Yuri Chevetski, a close friend of Gerard's father and someone Gerard looked up to as an effective leader. He enlisted the next day and was sent off to basic training in the Attican Traverse soon after, where he met Jessica Nolan. During basic training, Gerard proved his marksmanship and survival skills when the training camp came under attack by batarian pirates. Since live-fire training had not yet begun, most of the recruits were unarmed. Gerard, Jessica, and two of the surviving recruits headed for the armory. Once there, the recruits armed themselves, and together they fought back against the batarian pirates. Refusing to back down, the four recuits fought until Alliance reinforcements arrived and drove the batarians back, though not before Gerard was badly injured in the leg from a Kishock Harpoon Gun. He, along with the other three recruits, were awarded a medal for their bravery and skill. Sometime later in his career, Gerard was selected to undergo N7 training. After graduation, Gerard was given a Black Widow sniper rifle by Captain Chevetski, which he would continue to use throughout his entire career. He commonly used his own M-8 Avenger rifle that he was given on his eighteenth birthday as his primary weapon. Betrayal at Eden Prime In 2183, Gerard was stationed on Eden Prime. When the geth laid siege to Eden Prime, Gerard was ecstatic at the chance for battle. However, one of Keller's superiors, Captain Jonathan Allen, betrayed everyone around him. While fending off geth outside the FOB (Forward Operations Base), Captain Allen attacked and killed the other commanding officers, including Captain Chevetski. When Gerard found the captain, he managed to tell Gerard the traitor's name before dying in Keller's arms. After the death of his mentor, Gerard would continue to relentlessly hunt down the man who killed him and avenge Yuri's death. Out of ammunition and armed only with his Omni-Blade and fury over Chevetski's death, Gerard fought through wave-after-wave of geth. Gerard refused to give up, but after taking multiple rounds and sustaining serious and life-threatening injuries, Gerard had reached his body's limit and lost consciousness. When Shepard repelled the remaining geth, Gerard was found by Jessica Nolan, nearly dead and surrounded by the bodies of at least seventy geth he had destroyed. He was taken aboard the SSV Troy, his new ship, and brought to the Citadel for treatment, saving his life. Gerard set out to find Allen and get revenge for Yuri's death. He searched for weeks in vain. Then, three months after the betrayal, Gerard received tragic news: his twenty-year-old sister went MIA two days ago and his mother and father went to find her. His parents lost contact an hour after leaving Alliance space. The rest of the ship's crew presumed lost. Gerard found the ship, but the crew were nowhere to be found. Multiple blood stains across nearly every wall suggested what had happened, though. Reaching the pilot's seat, there were two corpses. Admirals Don and Maria Keller were dead. Horrified at his failure to protect his family, Gerard slowly began to show some of the early symptoms of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder. A few days later, Nora Keller, Gerard's missing sister, was found by the Troy and brought aboard. She was badly traumatized, bloodied, and beaten. She revealed to Gerard that Allen had tortured and abused her while she was captured by the madman. Gerard fought during the Battle of the Citadel, where he was recovering from an injury from Allen. Though alone, Gerard managed to take down several geth in the Presidium. Keller then fought his way through the heavily-damaged Citadel before reuniting with Jessica Nolan. The duo fought their way out of the Citadel, even lending fire support to Shepard's team on their way. After the destruction of Sovereign, Gerard and Jessica escaped aboard a starship and left the Citadel. Despite their previous attitude of professionalism and even friendship towards each other, the two became very close after their escape. The Hunt Continues Omega Squad After the destruction of Sovereign, Gerard searched tirelessly for Jonathan Allen. His newly-formed Omega Squad was given the sole purpose of finding and killing Allen. Over a year later on Omega, after receiving a tip that he might be there, Gerard searched a warehouse where Allen was supposedly hiding, only to find a slaughterhouse. Inside, he found a video log left by Allen. On the log, Allen told Gerard, in the form of a riddle, that he was on Thessia in a warehouse similar to the one Gerard was in. Allen also described his desire to brutally dismember Jessica Nolan, who was also present. Gerard continued to find more clues and riddles on various worlds, each one of his hideouts filled with dozens of bodies and rotting corpses. Each one contained a video log or datapad, all of which continually tormented Gerard and ate away at his sanity. Eventually, Gerard confronted the traitor on Noveria. Unfortunately for Omega Squad, Cerberus was allied with Allen and had sent Kai Leng and a large contingent of troops to defend him. Allen escaped unharmed once again as Omega Squad brutally fought off Cerberus. After forcing the troops to retreat, Kai Leng entered the fray. Alexis Monroe insisted on fighting him alone, leaving Gerard and the rest of Omega Squad to watch as she brutally tore apart the 'legendary' assassin and left him for dead. After searching for years, Jessica took Gerard to Terra Nova, Nolan's homeworld, to take a short rest from Keller's constant pursuit of Allen. Just as Gerard began to settle in and calm his rage, Allen shot at the two. Gerard and Jessica gave chase, intent on ending his menace. After a long running battle, Jonathan escaped the planet. The Final Confrontation Despite Jonathan's seemingly-perfect escape from Terra Nova and having left no clues, Tera had managed to track his location to the Citadel. Once there, Omega Squad split up throughout the Citadel in order to find him. While in the Presidium, Gerard recognized Allen's face and fired off several rounds, forcing citizens to flee and drawing the attention of Citadel Security as well. Gerard and Jess chased Jonathan across several floors of the Citadel before cornering him in one of the wards. Though cornered, Allen had a large group of mercenaries with him, who had somehow entered the Citadel undetected. Knowing that the end was within reach, the squad engaged in a very heavy firefight with the mercs. After the intense, destructive firefight that caused a massive amount of damage to the ward, Omega Squad prevailed, though it was not without loss. Jessica Nolan was shot through the chest. As she lay dying, she told Gerard that she loved him before losing consciousness. Overcome with grief, Gerard made his way to the traitor, killing several wounded mercenaries along the way. As Allen lay injured against one of the walls, Gerard approached him. Before killing him, Gerard asked Jonathan why he did what he had done. When Allen insanely replied that he wanted to be known through the galaxy and by Gerard personally, Gerard said that he would be forgotten by the galaxy and that his life never revolved around Allen. As Gerard activated his Omni-Blade, Allen lunged at him with his sqord, using the last of his strength. Gerard drove his Omni-Blade deep into the traitor's heart, killing him at last. Finally, Allen was dead. A dying Jessica was taken to Huerta Memorial Hospital after the battle. (More to be added later) Personality & Traits Prior to Yuri's death, Gerard was rather friendly towards others and was willing to help others. After his death, Gerard became hostile and extremely violent towards anyone, aside of his squad and crew. A prime example of his new brutal personality was during his interrogation of a human with knowledge on Jonathan Allen's location. While Keller is openly hostile and violent around others, he is very different when alone. While never actually stated, Gerard appears to have developed some of the symptoms of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder. He is haunted by nightmares of everything he blames himself for. Some of these include the death of Yuri Chevetski, the deaths of his parents, and younger sister's suicide. His emotions vary between rage and extreme sadness. Only Jessica Nolan has ever seen this side of Gerard's personality, then realizing that she was the only living person he loved. Appearance Early in his career, Gerard donned a personalized suit of N7 armor with a blood red hue and grey stripe across his arm. After being badly damaged in a battle with Captain Allen, Gerard's armor was in need of replacement components. Most of the armor is now made up of Hahne-Kedar parts, as Gerard relies on his weapons more than anything else. Keller's new armor now sports a pitch-black hue and several blood-red stripes across the chestplate and gauntlets. Under his helmet, he has a very rugged, scarred appearance. He bears numerous scars across his face and chest. His most noticable scar is the wound he received from Allen's Scorpion pistol, the blast from which permanently fused pieces of Keller's N7 armor to his chest and face. Relationships Family Gerard sees his entire childhood as a "seventeen-year-long boot camp." Trained to be a perfect soldier, Gerard never took credit for his skills, only his mistakes. Only when he had joined the Alliance had his attitude changed. Gerard was also shown to be very close with his twin sister, Nora Keller. Jessica Nolan Gerard first met Jessica Nolan during basic training. At their first meeting, Gerard instantly developed feelings for her. In fact, Gerard had planned to ask Jess to dinner while they were stationed on Eden Prime. However, after Yuri was killed, Gerard put his feelings aside in order to focus on finding Allen. Despite this, Keller and Nolan maintained a close friendship until the Battle of the Citadel. After the Battle of the Citadel and the destruction of Sovereign, Gerard and Jessica's relationship evolved into romance. When she asked to speak with Keller privately in the captain's cabin, she kissed Gerard passionately. Gerard and Jessica spent the night together. After Omega Squad took heavy casualties in an ambush, Gerard started looking back on his life and how it seemed that others around him died often. He noticed that, despite all of the psychological trauma he had endured over the years, his sanity was still intact. He realized that the only thing keeping it together was his relationship with Jessica, thus he considered her to be the most important thing in his life. Yuri Chevetski Yuri was Gerard's mentor and close friend. He had taught Gerard about many things, such as how to have a stable relationship while in the Alliance military. Yuri sometimes called Gerard "Jerry", much to Keller's chagrin. Even when Yuri was deployed to other poss, he made sure to keep in contact with Gerard, usually sending emails to Gerard at least once a week. When Yuri was killed in 2183 by Allen, it had a deep impact on Keller. After his death, Gerard's personality darkened; and he became a violent, merciless, and deadly soldier. Prior to Yuri's death, he had recommended to Admiral Hackett that Gerard be the leader of the newly formed Omega Squad. Omega Squad Gerard is generally less hostile towards his team. Of all the members of the Death Squad other than Jessica, Gerard mostly interacts with Jason Cross when not discussing missions, occasionally playing cards or drinking. Trivia *Gerard's birthday, 7/13/53, is a play on the superstitions of 'Lucky 7' and 'Unlucky 13/Friday the 13th'. Also, the day he was born happens to be Friday the 13th. *The Shadow Broker has files on Gerard Keller. Author's Notes *Gerard Keller is a character who will change drastically, personality-wise, throughout his journeys in Mass Effect: Betrayal. He is meant to serve the same purpose as Javik, the prothean in Mass Effect 3, who is said the be the Avatar of Vengeance. Gerard is intended to be far more brutal than Javik is. *Despite being the main protagonist, who is often shown as a heroic person who protects the innocent, Gerard Keller is effectively the exact opposite. Following the betrayal on Eden Prime, Keller will often resort to violence and intimidation and is willing to "make the tough choices others are too weak-willed to make." Category:Earthborn Category:Humans Category:Males Category:Systems Alliance Navy Category:Articles by Hunter Killer Category:Soldier Class